Seeing his sister's gaze filled with warmth and affection, Christian felt his resolve wavering. A part of him longed to bury himself in her embrace and find comfort, but he managed to regain control of his emotions and held back.
"So, what exactly happened?"
Hearing his sister ask about the situation, with her now gentle but firm tone, Christian was about to respond reflexively, but the lingering gloominess from before he slept held him back. Instead, he first asked.
"What about you? Why didn't you reply to my call but answered the school's?"
Christian still feeling some frustration, didn't want to let any misunderstandings linger between them. The last thing he wanted was for some pitiful reasons or the actions of others to create distance or awkwardness between him and his sister.
And Annabelle, hearing the question, panicked and hurriedly replied,
"I'm so sorry, Chris. When you called me, I was in a meeting and couldn't answer. By the time it was over, the school had already called before I could get back to you, so I didn't mean to ignore you."
Annabelle immediately understood why her brother had asked such a question. If he hadn't felt hurt because of her, he wouldn't have brought it up. A wave of guilt washed over her as she tried to reassure him.
"Then who talked to you exactly? Did he introduce himself?"
While still trying to determine if what she said was sufficient, Annabelle replied reflexively.
"It was the math teacher, Clayton Murphy, who called. He introduced himself and explained the situation, though he was quite agitated."
Knowing it was the math teacher, Christian immediately realized that what she had heard was likely even worse than he initially expected. Still somewhat curious about how much the teacher had exaggerated or lied about what had happened, he asked again.
"Then what exactly did he say?"
Annabelle froze, unsure of what to say. From the little bit her brother had mentioned, it was clear that he was angry because of that teacher.
Even she, though hadn't heard any exact details or the truth from her brother, was still angry at the teacher.
She actually didn't care about the truth. Even if her brother was in the wrong, she was prepared to stand by him and do everything she could to defend him.
But when alone, she also wanted to advise him to stay on the right path, not the wrong one. But maybe now wasn't the time?
So, with a heavy heart, she tried to beautify what the teacher had said, taking care not to hurt her brother. She focused on stating the main points of his statement.
"You were found to exhibit several concerning behaviors during your time at the school: disrespect towards teachers, cheating on exams, lying and deceiving the school, not paying attention in class, frequently sleeping or spacing out, leaving the school without permission or informing the teacher, and even damaging school property."
"There is a need for you to go through the school's disciplinary process. He even wanted me to come to the school with you for a meeting, and he mentioned that you are at risk of being expelled."
Actually, what he said was much worse, and Annabelle wondered how someone with such a crass personality had become a teacher.
She didn't know, but perhaps it was because of this that her brother had a problem with him?
Christian was astonished by what he heard, his mouth hanging open. How many faults did he want to accuse him of? Was there anything left that he hadn't put on his back?
Still, the main point from his point of view was cheating, and that was something Christian needed to address.
"You know, I don't need to cheat. As I don't give that much mind to the school anyway, right?"
Annabelle, hearing what her brother said, knew it was true. However, remembering what the teacher had said about him getting perfect scores on every exam and assessment lately, she was still not sure.
She then looked through his room, from all the posters on the walls, until her gaze finally landed on his desk. It didn't seem to have anything even remotely related to his studies or school.
She really didn't know whether to cry or laugh. The situation wasn't helping at all, and she was at a loss for how to respond. But, finally steeling herself, she asked back.
"Then how did you get the perfect scores, exactly?"
"Of course, it was by studying!"
'In your dreams?' Annabelle wanted to reply, but didn't in the end. Instead, she asked again.
"Still, how would you prove that it wasn't cheating?"
Christian didn't like the idea of having to prove himself. He felt that if anyone needed to prove something, it should be the teacher, who should prove that he was cheating.
Still, it was actually a simple problem.
"I can just take the exams again,"
Seeing her brother's confidence and hearing his answer without any hesitation, Annabelle was a little shaken. She didn't know where it was coming from, but she decided to trust him.
"Okay, what about the other issues?"
Christian, finally remembering that he had not yet explained what had happened or his confrontation with the teacher, decided to recount the events.
And Annabelle now hearing him, especially how he mentioned their parents, triggered her. She was even more enraged upon learning how the teacher had tried to corner her brother.
After remembering the schedule she had for work the next day, she decided to take a day off to address the situation as soon as possible.
She definitely would not stay silent about this kind of trash who didn't deserve to be a teacher.
If what her brother said was true, it would all come down to the accusations of cheating, and he was saying he would take the exam again.
So, there's no way they are in the wrong.
"Tomorrow, we will go together and see what he says."